SARS strikes Qantas

By Candace Sutton and Sean BerryMay 4 2003
The Sun-Herald

A Qantas flight attendant was placed in isolation in a Sydney hospital yesterday with what has been diagnosed as a possible case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) after returning from Singapore last week.

Qantas has contacted all passengers and crew who shared the flight with the female attendant.

She was admitted to St Vincent's Hospital after feeling unwell on Friday and developing a high temperature.

Doctors have eliminated other reasons for the woman's illness after conducting exhaustive tests.

She last worked on Qantas Flight 32 from Singapore to Sydney last Sunday.

She had travelled from Sydney to Melbourne, then Singapore and on to London before returning via Singapore, where she spent 47 hours before embarking on the final leg.

Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said the company believed the woman could not have infected passengers on that flight.

"The World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated that there is no evidence of SARS being transmitted by people who are not presenting symptoms," Mr Dixon said.

"As a result of this information, we believe the flight attendant was not infectious when she worked on QF32 last Sunday."

All flight attendants are tested at Singapore airport for symptoms, including high temperatures, before boarding their flights.

But Mr Dixon said the company had decided to contact passengers and crew who travelled on the flight "as a precaution" and "any other Qantas staff who had contact with that flight, to reassure them they should have no health concerns as a result of this case".

In-cabin air is changed every three minutes.

Mr Dixon travelled to Singapore last week to speak to the Government about SARS.

"I'm very confident of the precautions and work undertaken by the Singaporean authorities," he said.

Qantas was continuing to liaise with the relevant health authorities around the world, including the WHO.

All Qantas check-in and cabin crew were being vigilant and watching for SARS symptoms.

At the height of the SARS crisis, Qantas crews stayed in Manila rather than Hong Kong on overnight stays, but have now returned to Hong Kong hotels.

Customers who travelled on QF32 on April 27 may contact Qantas on 131 313 if they have any concerns.

Three flight attendants, employees of Air France, Singapore and Chinese airlines, have developed SARS.

Last night St Vincent's Hospital declined to comment on its potential SARS patient and the isolation ward arrangements, although no hospital staff have been issued with protective masks.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has issued repeated travel warnings for Australians to wear face masks and avoid unwell people when travelling through airports in Singapore, China, Hong Kong and Toronto.

The WHO has lifted its travel warning for Toronto and said SARS had been contained in Vietnam.

Australia will host experts from 40 countries at an international briefing in Melbourne on SARS at the five-day World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine, which starts on Tuesday.